Residents at the Arvida Waimea Plains retirement village can now take a lump of clay and turn it into their very own art piece under the guidance of one of their own.
Resident Wayne Price has been missing the feel of clay and has been able to set up a pottery wheel and electric kiln in the village workshop where he is now running classes for other residents.
Like Wayne, some residents have a history with pottery and have set up a display in the clubrooms of treasures they have made in the past, while others are keen to give it a go.
So far, 25 residents have expressed interest in the pottery. Only one other Arvida retirement village in the country has a pottery facility and Wayne says the local interest probably stems from the plethora of craft potters in the region during the 1960s and 1970s.
“There were potteries all over the place back then. Now there’s a resurgence in pottery, mostly retired people, but across the board too. We had the Great Pottery Throw Down also and things like that motivate people to have a go.”
Wayne got hooked on pottery during his teacher training years, and when he went on to teach in Murchison he started an adult education course on pottery in the town.
He based the course in a disused bakery and packed the resulting pots into his little Volkswagen car to get them fired at a kiln in Nelson, until they were able to get their own kiln.
When he moved to Nelson, he joined Craft Potters at Ranzau and sold pottery through its gallery as a hobby.
At Arvida, he will teach residents pottery skills, beginning with a “thumb pot”, before going on to more technical aspects using the wheel.
“A thumb pot is where you take a ball of clay and work it with your thumb. Then you can do slab work where you roll the clay out and make a form.”
The group has been able to acquire the contents of a former pottery studio including the wheel, kiln and other bits and pieces which Wayne says sets them up well to begin making their own pieces.
“I think I’m going to be busy - I hope so. I will concentrate on wheel work myself and my wife Janine has always been into hand-build pottery.”
Wayne will make things like bowls, mugs, casserole dishes and teapots, which he says are a bit of a challenge.
“You have to make the spout, the handle and the lid.”
It has been a decade since he worked with clay, but Wayne says it is like riding a bike and once you get back on, “away you go”.
“I’m very excited about it.”
